Wednesday, August 29, 2007

ISA HK/China --- HK Tree News (Flood Lighting a Mature Albizia & Tree Butchery in a School)


*** Station Mail is for the information of Station Members only, but Station Mail has given up copyright & can be freely circulated. For administrative reasons, comments from outsiders are usually not entertained & may be circulated within our system locally & overseas.***

Dear Station Members,

Attached are some recent tree news of HK to show the world & it was sadness all the way unfortunately:

1. Flood-Lighting the Mature Albizia in Sau Mau Ping

The Station Manager has great admiration towards this tree when he was taken by Mr. P Mok of Housing Dept in Jan 2006 to visit this beautiful giant. A Station Mail named ' Housing Dept Champion Trees' was also produced at that time to praise this magnificent tree with photos of good images. It is very sad now that this last line of fine trees of HK has gone to such waning & seems to be entering the Spiral of Decline. If nothing is to be done to it, this tree is likely going to die off part by part, just like the 200 year old ' Champion Ficus' in Kowloon Park.

There is a lack of research data on tree's reaction to constant lighting around the world because in most Western nations, Mature Trees would not usually be flooded with strong light throughout the night in the name of visual pleasure. Trees have been in existence on this planet for over 200 million years & the world has invented flood-lighting for less than 100 years. Trees in their natural habitat will not be flood-lit throughout the night. There are already over 100,000 species of trees discovered & we do not know which one would enjoy flood-lighting all night. Would strong light not disturb the physiology of a Mature Tree in its sleep? If some would say it is proper to light up a Mature Tree all night long, can they provide valid research to convince the world?

As for any good landscape, it is always ' Mother Nature makes the rules, not us '. If we go against Mother Nature, we would usually obtain an opposite effect, not matter how we use our words to provide the cosmetics.

2. Concreting Tree Roots on ground & slopes

Some of us do not seem to appreciate that trees, like animals, need also to breathe. Trees do not have a circulation system like animals & tree roots get their oxygen from only nearby. If this oxygen is depleted, by soil compaction or flooding, tree roots will die.

When tree roots die, the canopy above will wither gradually because it would lack the water & nutrient supply from below. Then diebacks will appear & tree parts may fall to hit something or somebody below. In HK, we tend to call this an ' Act of God'.

But is it really ??

3. Topping at a Tsuen Wan School

From the picture so shown in the newspaper cutting, this might as well be called Tree Butchery instead. What is ironical is that it happens at a school, where they would preach our young to respect life. Is any tree not a life? Do we mutilate a person if he/she grows too tall??

If Leung King Estate got punished by topping without approval, then why should this incident get away? Are they private trees, & should private trees receive no respect?

It is a general misunderstanding that any tree growing tall will collapse. If the tree has been well cared for, this worry is entirely incorrect. If a tree would collapse after attaining a certain height, there will be no standing Mature Trees in the forest, or even anywhere in Western cities. What the HK public need to understand is how trees grow & die, yet they can not get the correct information except from our Station, & our Station can only write in English.

Sad to see our Mature Trees disappearing one by one due to our mal-practice. HK is seen to be without basic tree care by international standard for our many Mature Trees. Then what trees are we going to leave to our next generation ? Tiny topped trees in the name of ' flowering' from inadequate China nurseries? Do we call this our good landscape??

Then who should be responsible for all these ??

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager

ISA HK/China --- Free Arboricultural Consultation to Political Parties (DP)

To: Board of Directors, The Democratic Party of HK (DP)

From: ISA HK/China Station

Dear Sirs,

Free Consultation on Tree Related Issues to DP

We are ISA HK/China Station, an Associated Organization of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA; www.isa-arbor.com) for the region of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China. We currently have over 390 Station Members from all walks of life including Civil Servants, Academics, Engineers, Architects, Consultants & Contractors working in the landscape industry. We have been rather low key in our existence because we are not an activist group like a lot of the NGO's. We only focus on trees & tree care, practically nothing else. Our official correspondences are in English since we circulate overseas, although we all understand Chinese.

The Arborist Profession mainly involves Tree Care, including Tree Selection, Tree Installation, Tree Maintenance, Tree Pruning, Tree Transplantation, Tree Inspection, Tree Risk Management & Tree Climbing. ISA HK/China Station now governs the 41 no. of Certified Arborists (CA) in HK & we organize CA exam in HK every April & October. We are the true specialists in tree care & practice by international standards. We also have a Code of Honour to abide Integrity, Professionalism & Participation into our society with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling.

Ever since the falling apart of the 200 year old ' Champion Ficus' in Kowloon Park a little while ago, our Station has received communication from Station Members urging us to positively approach the relevant Govt Depts & public sector for exposure of proper tree care to protect our precious trees, which are getting fewer by days for one reason or another. After some consideration & discussion, we have decided to open ourselves to the public for free consultation on arboricultural matters over e-mail & phone call. The CA Family of our Station would also entertain invitation in giving Free Arboricultural Seminar to anybody subject to the CA Family's convenience. The Station Manager below can be contacted at egc@netvigator.com or 9090 6719 from 8 am to 10 pm everyday for such arrangement. DAB is welcomed to contact him anytime for anything relating to tree affairs in HK/China for free advice.

ISA HK/China issues a Station Mail weekly on our local tree affairs in English circulated to arboricultural organizations in HK, Macau, Taiwan, China, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand & USA. Anyone is welcomed to be included in the circulation. Samples of our Station Mail are attached for your interesting reference & DP is welcomed to come on list of our circulation anytime. No cost or charges is involved hidden or expressed for this service.

ISA HK/China also maintains a Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com to keep some of our Station Mail on display to the public. However, photos or images would not be attached in full due to the Blog size allocated by the web.

Trees are an important part of our environmental protection because trees are the community centre for all wildlife on land. The benefits of trees are too many to mention & a summary is produced by ISA at www.treesaregood.org open to the world. DLO of the HK Govt is the coordinating Dept of any tree issue on Govt Land & keeps the gate for any application for Tree Felling, Tree Transplantation, Tree Pruning & Master Landscape Plan. In the longer run, ISA HK/China would like to see an Arborist Report is to be required for this kind of application at every Govt Dept & let Arborists take the legal & technical risk in the assessment. After all, Western Nations would not ask their Lands Dept to assess trees. It would be their Arboricultural Office doing the job & taking the liability. In the present political environment in HK, ISA HK/China can offer help indeed.

DP is by far an influential political organization in our Govt & DP can demand policies affecting the quality of life in HK. Many a times in the past our activists have requested Tree Laws to be proposed at Legco, but who are qualified to draft Tree Laws? Would not education come first to achieve a general understanding & acceptance within our society before Tree Laws are drafted for the sake of social harmony? ISA HK/China can certainly help in providing international experience in this aspect.

Thank you all Sirs for your time & DP is welcomed to contact us anytime for anything relating to tree issues.

Serving our society well is the commitment of any good Arborist in the name of Participation.

best regards,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
ISA Chief Proctor for the HK/China Region
ISA Certified Arborist / Certified Tree Climber no. ML-0174AT
International Tree Failure Database (ITFD) Coordinator for HK/China
Independent Tree Specialist to the HKSAR Govt
Lecturer for Tree Supervision at CITA

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

ISA HK/China --- Free Arboricultural Consultation to Political Parties (DAB)

To: Board of Directors, The Democratic Alliance for Betterment of HK (DAB)

From: ISA HK/China Station

Dear Sirs,

Free Consultation on Tree Related Issues to DAB

We are ISA HK/China Station, an Associated Organization of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA; http://www.isa-arbor.com/) for the region of HK, Macau, Taiwan & China. We currently have over 390 Station Members from all walks of life including Civil Servants, Academics, Engineers, Architects, Consultants & Contractors working in the landscape industry. We have been rather low key in our existence because we are not an activist group like a lot of the NGO's. We only focus on trees & tree care, practically nothing else. Our official correspondences are in English since we circulate overseas, although we all understand Chinese.

The Arborist Profession mainly involves Tree Care, including Tree Selection, Tree Installation, Tree Maintenance, Tree Pruning, Tree Transplantation, Tree Inspection, Tree Risk Management & Tree Climbing. ISA HK/China Station now governs the 41 no. of Certified Arborists (CA) in HK & we organize CA exam in HK every April & October. We are the true specialists in tree care & practice by international standards. We also have a Code of Honour to abide Integrity, Professionalism & Participation into our society with an attitude of fact-finding & truth-telling.

Ever since the falling apart of the 200 year old ' Champion Ficus' in Kowloon Park a little while ago, our Station has received communication from Station Members urging us to positively approach the relevant Govt Depts & public sector for exposure of proper tree care to protect our precious trees, which are getting fewer by days for one reason or another. After some consideration & discussion, we have decided to open ourselves to the public for free consultation on arboricultural matters over e-mail & phone call. The CA Family of our Station would also entertain invitation in giving Free Arboricultural Seminar to anybody subject to the CA Family's convenience. The Station Manager below can be contacted at egc@netvigator.com or 9090 6719 from 8 am to 10 pm everyday for such arrangement. DAB is welcomed to contact him anytime for anything relating to tree affairs in HK/China for free advice.

ISA HK/China issues a Station Mail weekly on our local tree affairs in English circulated to arboricultural organizations in HK, Macau, Taiwan, China, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand & USA. Anyone is welcomed to be included in the circulation. Samples of our Station Mail are attached for your interesting reference & DAB is welcomed to come on list of our circulation anytime. No cost or charges is involved hidden or expressed for this service.

ISA HK/China also maintains a Blog at http://isahkchina.blogspot.com/ to keep some of our Station Mail on display to the public. However, photos or images would not be attached in full due to the Blog size allocated by the web.

Trees are an important part of our environmental protection because trees are the community centre for all wildlife on land. The benefits of trees are too many to mention & a summary is produced by ISA at http://www.treesaregood.org/ open to the world. DLO of the HK Govt is the coordinating Dept of any tree issue on Govt Land & keeps the gate for any application for Tree Felling, Tree Transplantation, Tree Pruning & Master Landscape Plan. In the longer run, ISA HK/China would like to see an Arborist Report is to be required for this kind of application at every Govt Dept & let Arborists take the legal & technical risk in the assessment. After all, Western Nations would not ask their Lands Dept to assess trees. It would be their Arboricultural Office doing the job & taking the liability. In the present political environment in HK, ISA HK/China can offer help indeed.

DAB is by now the biggest & most influential political organization in our Govt & DAB can demand policies affecting the quality of life in our society. Many a times in the past our activists have requested Tree Laws to be proposed at Legco, but who are qualified to draft Tree Laws? Would not education come first to achieve a general understanding & acceptance within the community before Tree Laws are drafted for the sake of social harmony? ISA HK/China can certainly help in providing international experience in this aspect.

Thank you all Sirs/Madams for your time & DAB is welcomed to contact us anytime for anything relating to tree issues.

Serving our society well is the commitment of any good Arborist in the name of Participation.

best regards,

Sammy Au
ISA HK/China Station Manager
ISA Chief Proctor for the HK/China Region
ISA Certified Arborist / Certified Tree Climber no. ML-0174AT
International Tree Failure Database (ITFD) Coordinator for HK/China
Independent Tree Specialist to the HKSAR Govt
Lecturer for Tree Supervision at CITA

Monday, August 27, 2007

ISA HK/China --- Latest Aerial Rescue techniques from 2007 ISA International Conference in Hawaii

Dear Station Members,

One of the missions of the delegation from our Station to the 2007 ISA International Conference was to bring back the latest knowledge & techniques from international researchers. While the other candidates focused on various topics in arboriculture, the Station Manger paid heavy emphasis on Tree Climbing & mingled with the International Tree Climbing Championship (ITCC) competitors & judges to learn the latest equipment & techniques. Aerial Rescue is one such area which is constantly under development in Europe & America. Nearly every time the Station Manager would hear something new from the practitioners by attending a conference on this topic.

Tree Work is very dangerous indeed. In North America, arboriculture is a profession with an average annual fatality rate about 10 times the all-industrial average. More tree workers are killed every year than Firemen & Police put together in the USA. In HK, tree work accidents are not specifically classified by the authorities. However, from hearsay among contractors & supervisors, nearly every company will have tree workers injured on ground or on tree in every season at work. What is not cooked up by the media does not mean it does not happen in reality.

In the Western world, all Tree Climbers are required to learn Aerial Rescue as a protocol as part of their working duty. In the past, most training would encourage the rescuer to bring down the victim from the tree as soon as possible, thinking that this would save life faster. However, recent research has shown that by doing so, the victim may actually become more injured in the process since most rescuers are not medical expert to make judgment on injury, or the Fire Service would find the rescuer getting in the way for their trained procedures, therefore delaying the rescue process instead of speeding it up. Research has also shown that resting the victim on tree to await arrival of trained help, rather than bringing him/her down in a hurry, may actually reduce the chance of further injury. All such information is now coming out to challenge the old thinking.

Attached is information on Aerial Rescue given by perhaps the world's best Tree Climbing training company called ArborMaster in the USA. ArborMaster can be more or less recognized as the official ISA Tree Climbing training agent & has developed many techniques & equipment with which Professional Tree Climbers are using all over the world including the Station Manager. ArborMaster's website is www.ArborMaster.com & is full of good information.

Aerial Rescue is one of the requisition to apply for the ISA Certified Tree Worker (CTW) exam. There are currently over 20,000 Certified Arborists in the world but only around 650 CTW's, even though CTW exam only tests basic skills. CUGE (www.cuge.com.sg) currently offers training programs in Basic Tree Climbing with Australian credentials. CUGE may proceed to the CTW credential later when they can build up the number of their Tree Climbing candidates as time goes along. The Station Manager may be invited to proctor CTW exam in Singapore in future when needed. Tree Climbing is already becoming a requirement for Tree Maintenance Contracts in Singapore. It looks like Singapore will be taking the lead in this aspect again in Asia.

ISA HK/China currently has no intention to conduct CTW exam in HK/China until further notice.

best regards,

Sammy Au
Station Manager